How does an airport grow a city? Has it grown Isiolo.
Biggest thing moi did for eldoret is the refferal and the university.
That is one thing most people go to edloret for - moi refferal hospital and then moi & eldoret university.
Kakamega has grown thanks to Masinde Muliro and so have other towns.
Eldoret is doing well as farmers town -
And now with Ruto as president - the road infrastructure will be fixed.
Definitely the by-pass will help but the main road also need to be expanded to dual highway.
As for future - eldoret and nakuru will grow faster because they are sorrounded by large farms - where it easy to get 1,000 or 2,000 acres for expansion.
Meru, Kakamega or Bungoma - you have to beg someone to sell you 1/8 of land.
Kericho the same - but the tea plantation if they are made to move - can provide huge land for expansion.
Towns that will grow fast include narok, vois, naivasha, machakos, kajiados, isiolos, kitale, all coastal cities- because of land
The kakamega, Nyeris, embus, merus - I dont see any serious growth - in the long term because land is just not available
Moi tried to help Eldoret take off by giving them a major Airport outside the major 3 towns/cities of Kenya. If his efforts as president did not pay off, I am not sure how this one will their mentality. Unlike Pan paper & Mumuias Sugar which is interfered with by outside political forces, Eldoret is responsible for its own stagnation, private enterprise & factories stagnated; the reason being, the "waligula mastore from sweeper to Minister" mentality that keeps them hooked on government largess. The cost of material in Eldoret is so high nobody leaves their village in North rift & Western to go shopping in Eldoret because the same costs less in smaller towns meaning they source from elsewhere. More embarrassingly Eldoret has never complemented the one main street through the town, creating serious bottleneck jams for those going North beyond Eldoret or going the opposite direction to Nairobi.
I don't see any futire with eldoret for me its still seems a volatile place no one will invest if mere hawkers and street urchins are rampaging the town and looting and maiming innocent people.
You really don't need to defend the undefendable ,with an airport thats not thriving for decades what more?